Basecoat for Alclad Chrome?

I'm not real happy with the gloss black enamel I'm currently using and am wondering what others prefer?

I've had good luck with Testors gloss black enamel (in the small bottles). Tried it with Tamiya spray but the Alclad rubbed right off. You really do need to stick with enamels for a durable finish.

Alclad has their own enamel black base that works really good. Takes a while to dry though.

I use Alclad over Model Master Acryl gloss black, and have been very happy with the results. It's true that lacquer over acrylic is generally not compatible- but sprayed lightly (as alclad should be) there isn't enough solvent to attack the acryl, and it adheres very nicely.

I've had excellent results using Testors/Model Master enamels, but recently tried Alclad's own base paint and now prefer it. If you use it be aware that it is very, very thin.

Thanks for the info! I'm also using Testors/Model Master and the finish is nice. My complaint (whining really) is the lengthy drying time and durability. I guess I was hoping there was a magic bullet I didn't know about but from the comments it sounds like none are perfect and I need to just deal with it.

I'll grab a bottle of the Alclad black next time I'm at the LHS and give it a go.

Mike

Thanks for the info! I'm also using Testors/Model Master and the finish is nice. My complaint (whining really) is the lengthy drying time and durability. I guess I was hoping there was a magic bullet I didn't know about but from the comments it sounds like none are perfect and I need to just deal with it...
Do you mean drying time of the base, or of the Alclad. I've always wondered about the Alclad - it seems to take a good 24 hours to dry, so I wondered if I had a bad batch or something. How long does Alclad take to dry people?

Alclad itself takes less than 5 minutes to dry. Enamel base takes days.

Enamels are fine for modeling if you use a dehydrator or similar to speed-dry it. Every 10 degrees F above ambient temperature cuts the drying time in half. If you shoot enamel today and leave it in dehydrator overnight, it's ready to buff out tomorrow. Waiting days/weeks/months for paint to dry? Me? No way. With a dehydrator the only reason I don't use enamels for paint jobs very often is that even when dry the surface is soft, it's easy to build up dirty fingerprints on it while assembling the model.

Your enamel basecoat for Alclad doesn't have to be gloss black, it can be any gloss color. White, gray, or dark blue are also good bases under Alclad chrome.

I have some of Tamiya's new silver/gold that is intended for shooting over TS14 gloss black, so I assume it is a lot like Alclad. I will test soon to see if that's the case.

I was going to ask about the dehydrator option Zoom. I've had no experience with them. How do they work(heat, refrigerant)? Which is the best design for model paint drying? I really like enamel paint because they combine to make custom colors so well but the drying time of the gloss colors is ridiculous. If I could fix that it would open up a lot of painting avenues - not just with Alclad.

I fast-dried a white metal motorcycle frame in my oven on "warm" once. After about an hour I took the parts out and they were too hot to handle at first. There was no distortion and the paint surface was hard and durable with a nice gloss. It worked really well but I guess that's not an option with plastic parts.

What if the part was molded in black? do you still have to paint it befor spraying the Alclad Chrome?

I was going to ask about the dehydrator option Zoom. I've had no experience with them. How do they work(heat, refrigerant)? Which is the best design for model paint drying? I really like enamel paint because they combine to make custom colors so well but the drying time of the gloss colors is ridiculous. If I could fix that it would open up a lot of painting avenues - not just with Alclad.

I fast-dried a white metal motorcycle frame in my oven on "warm" once. After about an hour I took the parts out and they were too hot to handle at first. There was no distortion and the paint surface was hard and durable with a nice gloss. It worked really well but I guess that's not an option with plastic parts.

They work by heat, they have a heating element. Some have a fan too. The best one to buy is the one you can find the easiest, and modify it for model use. You might have to cut some of the racks to fit taller items. You might have to adjust airflow so the temperature doesn't go over 110 degrees F. My dehydrator has just a small heating element and sliding openings to adjust airflow, and it only goes to 110. Any dehydrator can be modified for model use. Just get one and work with it.

What if the part was molded in black? do you still have to paint it befor spraying the Alclad Chrome?

Alclad chrome must be applied over a glossy surface, the smoothest/glossiest finish you can achieve, for it to reflect properly. If the plastic is smooth and glossy, the finish will be. If the plastic isn't glossy, you have to make it glossy by coating with gloss clear or gloss black enamel or Alclad base. Don't stray from that formula and you'll be okay.

Also, Alclad is lacquer based and may attack raw plastic.

Was just going to cast my resin grills/bumpers in black resin to cut down on the thickness of applying to much paint. The black resin comes out really glossy so maybe I will try one soon. Now just have to find my airbrush :sly: